Questions making the rounds lately: Really, how good are the undefeated Hopkins and Martin football teams this fall?
It’s difficult to tell for sure.
Martin is playing eight-man football this year for the first time and it’s a guessing game as to who’s tough and who’s not. The Clippers Friday night made believers out of even the most skeptical among us with a convincing 50-16 triumph on the road against previously unbeaten Bridgman.
Just like with Lawrence, they started slowly, but then pulled away big time in the last two quarters.
It appears Martin’s greatest threat to an undefeated regular season is Climax-Scotts, which is 5-1 overall, and its only loss has come at the hands of an undefeated powerhouse Colon outfit.
The Clippers will be in the eight-man playoffs, but how far they go if anybody’s guess.
Hopkins has a different reason for questions about how good it is. Three teams in the O-K Silver Conference pulled out of competing in football this fall and have decided to play an independent schedule.
Without league members Wyoming Lee, NorthPointe Christian and Calvin Christian, the Vikings have been stuck with playing the other three Silver members, Godwin Heights, Kelloggsville and Belding twice each. They already have blown out each Silver opponent and will play two of them again yet before taking on Menominee in a special nonleague season finale Oct. 25 at Petoskey. The Maroons are 4-2, but it’s hard to tell how good they are because three of their games have been against teams from Wisconsin.
But there is another way to get an idea about Hopkins’ gridiron prowess. The Vikings bested Ravenna 22-20 in their season opener. Ravenna since then has reeled off five consecutive victories, including a 17-7 decision over highly regarded Montague last Friday night.
Hopkins beat Morley-Stanwood, which has won its last four encounters after an 0-2 start.
So it appears that coach Cody Francis and his charges really do have a pretty good ballclub. Just how good, time will tell.
